East Timor Action Network Urges Indonesia's President to Fulfill
Commitments to East Timor by Stopping Militia Violence, Assisting Return of Refugees and
Cooperating with Rights Investigations

Clinton Must Keep Military Assistance Suspension, Release Rights Data

November 11-- The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) today urged Indonesian President
Abdurrahman Wahid to respect East Timor's independence vote by stopping militia violence
and assisting in the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees forcibly removed from
East Timor. ETAN also stressed that Indonesia must cooperate with ongoing international
human rights investigations.

On the eve of the first meeting between President Clinton and the new Indonesian
leader, ETAN believes it is imperative that the Clinton administration maintain its
suspension of assistance to the Indonesian military because the military and its militias
remain a threat not only to East Timor but Indonesian democracy as well.

"President Wahid says that he wants good relations with neighboring East Timor. If
he is sincere, he should clamp down on the Indonesian military and its militias, which
continue to threaten East Timorese forcibly removed to West Timor and other parts of
Indonesia and the U.N. personnel working to repatriate them," said John M. Miller,
spokesperson for the East Timor Action Network.

"Indonesia may have renounced its claim to East Timor, but the military-backed
militias continue to threaten East Timorese both inside and outside the territory,"
said Miller. "Those responsible for the destruction of East Timor must be held
accountable, but Indonesia refuses to cooperate with the UN's investigation of human
rights abuses," said Miller.

President Wahid is scheduled to meet President Clinton on Friday, November 12, the
anniversary of the well-known 1991 Santa Cruz massacre in which over 270 East Timorese
were killed while attending a peaceful demonstration.

The East Timor Action Network will hold a candlelight vigil at 5 p.m. at the Embassy of
Indonesia, 2020 Massachusetts Ave., NW in Washington, DC to commemorate the victims of
that massacre and the victims of more recent violence by the Indonesian armed forces and
their militias after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence.

"A thorough international investigation of the human rights violations committed
by the Indonesian military in East Timor would advance the rights of the rights of both
East Timorese and Indonesians. Identifying and prosecuting those responsible will help
Indonesia's nascent democracy bring its military under civilian control," Miller
said.

"The ban on U.S. military assistance must remain in place until there are
fundamental changes to the Indonesian military, including an end to abuses of rights in
Indonesia itself," he added.

On September 9, President Clinton announced the suspension of military assistance to
Indonesia after the Indonesian military and their militias began their scorched earth
campaign in East Timor following an overwhelming pro-independence vote.

Over 200,000 East Timorese remain in Indonesia, most against their will. The UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repeatedly protested militia interference with
efforts to repatriate refugees, saying Indonesian police and military have done nothing to
deter such intimidation. Komnas HAM, Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights,
recently reported that militia groups in West Timor have committed "systematic and
organized human rights violations," including forced disappearances, arbitrary
detention and violence against women. Indonesian security forces "let these things
continue," Komnas HAM said.

The East Timor Action Network/U.S. was founded in November 1991, following the Santa
Cruz massacre in Dili, East Timor. ETAN/US supports genuine self-determination and human
rights for the people of East Timor. ETAN has 27 local chapters across the country.